On an afternoon when the Bell Centre couldn’t wait to break into ‘Ole, Ole, Ole’, the Canadiens O-laid an egg in the worst way.

Fans who roared through the pre-game torch ceremony, backed Ginette Reno’s powerful O Canada and madly waved rally towels, were muted in the third period, with a converted Rangers touchdown on the board and a sore Carey Price on the bench. The 7-2 loss was hardly the way Montreal envisioned the start of the Eastern Conference final after its emotional win over Boston, as a million car flags were lowered to half mast across La Belle Province.

“We were not ready, mentally and physically, to compete in a game like that,” said coach Michel Therrien. “We have to compete harder and be more alert. This was a good lesson.”

Even if you take those three Rangers power-play goals off the board, it’s quickly evident that New York is a different animal than the Bruins, with a speed game that caught the Canadiens off-guard. The Rangers are now on a post-season roll of 4-0 that included their upset of Pittsburgh and know they can win in a traditionally difficult building.

“I wish we could play every game in here, though not necessarily against the Canadiens,” said Brad Richards. “It’s just a great building and they know hockey. I’m a Canadian guy who played major junior in Quebec and you spend a lot of time looking around and imagining playing here.

“It’s loud and they’re going to come with the fans behind them. You have to weather that always, but at the same time enjoy it. There is no better stage to be battling on.”

Rangers coach Alain Vigneault wondered if the unusual puck drop of 1 p.m., had disrupted the home side.

“In Canada, hockey is Saturday night, not Saturday afternoon. Maybe we caught them at a moment they’re not used to and were able to jump on that.”

Seven different Rangers scored: Martin St. Louis, Mats Zuccarello, Chris Kreider, Richards, Derek Stepan, Rick Nash and Ryan McDonagh, who tied Brian Leetch’s team record of four points in a playoff game by a defenceman.

“They come fast with their guys and we were able to get out of our zone pretty clean,” said McDonagh. “We chipped it behind them and generated plays using our speed. Being a defenceman, you see things happening a lot faster, the way everyone is contributing, moving the puck, winning one-on-one battles. There was great back pressure by the forwards.”

The crowd was first quieted by a St. Louis goal, set up by dilligent work from Dominic Moore. Both Rangers suffered the loss of loved ones this season, Moore’s wife and St. Louis’ mother. Moore, filling in after Derick Brassard left the game following a Mike Weaver hit, also helped set up Zuccarello’s goal two minutes later.

When Montreal threatened after a Rene Bourque knuckleball beat Henrik Lundqvist and Brandon Prust was stopped on a 2-on-1, jaw-dropping easy goals by Kreider and Richards foiled Price late in the second. Kreider had earlier collided hard with Price in the crease and possibly twisted the goalie’s ankle. However, Therrien insisted it was Price’s mental well-being for Game 2 on Monday that he was concerned with more than a physical issue. Price gave up four goals on 20 shots before Peter Budaj was thrown into a three-goal Rangers power-play shredder.

“We weren’t sharp in front of (Price),” said Therrien, who got a late Lars Eller goal to avoid his team’s worst playoff defeat in 12 years.

Lundqvist, tired of being hen-pecked about his sub-par numbers at the Bell Centre, said he’s grown as a goalie since last starting here a couple of years ago.

“You have to show your teammates you can play (in a harsh environment),” he said. “But (Montreal) has success at home against a lot of teams, not just us. They play a confident game when they get the building going.

“Coming into the series, we talked about the noise here, not over-thinking, just playing our game, our system and believing in what we’re doing. Rely on skill when you have to, keep the plays simple so the guys know what’s coming and we can be a step ahead. That’s given us success, especially on the road.”